A pensioner with a guilty conscience has returned a hotel towel he took by mistake 44 years ago.
Nahim Alcure – a former mayor – said it is now a “huge weight” lifted off his shoulders.
The hotel plans to frame it and put it on display in reception.
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Forgetful Nahim, 99, accidentally packed the towel in with his belongings after staying there.
He stayed at the Plaza hotel in Colatina, north east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1980.
He was aged 55 at the time.
The former mayor of nearby Iúna says it always remained on his mind in the decades that passed.
Dad-of-six Nahim told local media: “I stayed at the hotel for a week, and when I unpacked my suitcase, I realised I had accidentally taken a towel.
“I moved several times over the years and kept forgetting about it and didn’t know where it was.
“But when it resurfaced, I made a point of returning it.”
Nahim was born and raised in Iúna and still lives there today, as reported on Need To Know.
His family found the towel inside a pillowcase while they were sorting through some belongings.
Nahim decided to return it when he was staying at a son’s house in Guarapari.
Nahim, his son, and his daughter-in-law drove for nearly three hours to return the item to the hotel once and for all.
When they handed it back, the staff were surprised and grateful, while the former politician felt relief.
He recalled: “I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.
“The hotel staff said they appreciated the gesture, thanked me, and insisted on taking a photo.
“They asked why I kept the towel for so long, but honesty is a virtue, not an obligation.
“They mentioned they don’t even use those towels with the hotel’s name embossed anymore.
“To preserve it, they said they’re going to frame it and put it on display.”
Hotel owner Maria Zelurze told local media:
“He was bothered by having kept the towel and decided to come back. He was so excited.
“He took it by mistake. He didn’t do it on purpose. He’s an honest person, and that’s quite rare.
“Here, people sometimes take towels or bedspreads, but they never return them. This has never happened before.”
The framed cloth will be placed at the entrance to the hotel restaurant.
